GCC to weigh measures against Syria

Source: Khaleej Times (Read full story)

Foreign ministers of the Gulf countries will meet on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia to discuss measures against Syria, as Washington drums up support for its plan to strike Damascus, a diplomat said.  Countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council “support taking international measures to deter the Syrian regime,” the diplomat told AFP on Monday. The ministers will meet in Saudi’s western port city of Jeddah. The GCC, which comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, has openly voiced support for the rebellion against President Bashar Al Assad.  On Saturday, GCC chief Abdullatif Al Zayani urged the international community to intervene immediately to “rescue” the Syrian people from their government’s “oppression”.

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Bahrain opposition boycotts national dialogue session

Source: Khaleej Times (Read full story)

Bahrain’s opposition has boycotted a National Consensus Dialogue session in protest against restrictions imposed on political societies to hold meetings with diplomatic missions in Bahrain. Bahrain’s Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Ministry issued an order on Tuesday that all requests of political societies to interact with foreign organisations or diplomatic missions should be done in coordination with the ministry. According to the new rule, the ministry’s Political Societies’ Affairs Office will receive requests from societies and will refer them to the foreign ministry for required procedures. The order also states that foreign ministry’s representatives have the right to attend meetings between political societies and foreign organisations.

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Obama battles to overcome G20 splits on Syria strike

Source: Khaleej Times (Read full story)

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With pressure mounting on the G20 to make concrete progress towards ending the conflict, the United Nations announced that its special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi was on his way to attend the summit to push for peace talks. The UN’s desperate bid for peace talks came after Obama cleared the first hurdle in his race to win domestic congressional backing for punitive strikes over the alleged use of chemical weapons by President Bashar Al Assad’s regime. He is also seeking broader international support. On the eve of the summit, Russian President Putin bluntly warned the West that any military action without UN Security Council approval would be an “aggression” and once again demanded watertight proof of chemical weapons use

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UAE moves into top 20 of world’s most productive global economies

Source: The National (Read full story)

The UAE has moved into the ranks of the 20 most productive global economies for the first time, according to the World Economic Forum (Wef). The Wef’s latest “Global Competitiveness Report” – its annual survey of the most efficient and dynamic economies – puts the UAE at 19th, up five places from last year. For the fifth consecutive year, Switzerland was ranked the most competitive economy in the world, ahead of Singapore, Finland and Germany. The United States regained its top-five status, while the highest-ranked Middle East country was Qatar, at 13th. The Wef, best-known for the annual congress of business and political leaders held at Davos, said: “The UAE’s competitiveness reflects the high quality of its infrastructure, as well as its highly efficient goods markets. Strong macroeconomic stability and some positive aspects of the country’s institutions – such as strong public trust in politicians and high government efficiency – round up the list of competitive advantages.”

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Kuwait calls on UN to end Syria bloodshed – Use of chemical weapons in Syria deplored

Source: Kuwait Times (Read full story)

Kuwait called on the UN and the international community to shoulder their responsibilities to end the bloodshed in Syria and prevent the usage of chemical weapons there. Speaking after the cabinet’s meeting, chaired by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and Minister of Health Sheikh Mohammed Al-Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah said that a briefing on the Arab Foreign Ministers meeting with regards to Syria was provided by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said that the meeting in Cairo on Sunday focused on the use of chemical weapons in Syria which led to the death of hundreds of innocent civilians, said Sheikh Mohammed Al-Abdullah.

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Gulf markets plunge overstates Syria risk

Source: Gulf Times (Read full story)

Gulf economies are not as vulnerable to the effects of a widening of the conflict in Syria as steep falls in their stock markets this week suggest.  Rising tension over a potential US-led military attack against Damascus over a chemical weapons attack last week triggered a 7% plunge in Dubai’s stock market on Tuesday, its biggest one-day fall since the emirate’s corporate debt crisis of 2009; the market fell a further 1.3% on Wednesday.  Saudi Arabia’s share market, the Arab world’s biggest, is down 5.4% this week. Its drop on Tuesday was the largest since late 2011.  But it is not clear that any expansion of the Syrian conflict would have much impact on the six economies of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC). Gulf States have strengthened their finances and made contingency plans since a dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme flared up three years ago.

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Syria strike: MPs call for emergency session

Source: Kuwait Times (Read full story)

Lawmakers are discussing the possibility of requesting an emergency session within a couple of weeks to discuss the situation in the region in light of developments in Syria and Egypt. According to sources, a number of MPs believe that a request to allocate a session for the topic after the parliament resumes sessions on Oct 29 means that the issue will not be discussed before mid-November; a relatively late date considering reports hint at a potential military strike against Syria over the next few days. The sources indicated that a number of MPs are currently discussing the idea before obtaining signatures of at least 33 lawmakers to hold an emergency session. If the petition comes through, the report will be sent to the parliament’s speaker to start negotiations with the Cabinet to release an Amiri decree to hold the session.

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KSA, Arab League seek decisive world stand on Syria

Source: Arab News (Read full story)

 Saudi Arabia on Tuesday urged the international community to take a “decisive and serious” stand against the regime of Bashar Assad for massacring Syrian people using chemical and other destructive weapons.
“The rejection of the Syrian regime of all serious and earnest Arab efforts and the horrible massacres he committed against his people … requires a decisive and serious stand by the international community to end the humanitarian tragedy of the Syrian people,” said Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal. Addressing a meeting of the Saudi-Moroccan Joint Commission in Jeddah, Prince Saud said Assad’s regime has lost its Arab identity and it no longer belongs to the Syrian civilization that has been held in high esteem in the Arab world.

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